Are You A Bad Boss?

Mike Hofman was previously editor of Inc.com and a deputy editor at Inc. magazine, which he joined in 1996. The site was nominated for a National Magazine Award for Digital Media in 2010, and was named the best business website by Folio Magazine. In 2006, Hofman was part of a team of writers nominated for a Webby Award for best business blog. He lives in New York City.

If you're one of those bosses who believes that to spare the rod is to spoil the bottom line, beware: "Lawmakers across the country are considering legislation that would give workers grounds to sue their superiors for being, basically, jerks," The Los Angeles Times reports. Meanwhile, "Bookstores are stocking bad-boss advice tomes, including 'Snakes in Suits' and 'Was Your Boss Raised by Wolves?' Today the AFL-CIO will name the worst boss in the country, based on the results of an online contest."

The states considering sue-the-boss bills are New Jersey, New York, Vermont, and Washington. There are some nascent efforts to revive similar legislation in California, the paper reports.

In February, Inc.'s Leigh Buchanan contributed this article to the oeuvre of asshole-boss journalism.

What do you think? Is this a textbook case of legislation run amok, or a sign of some deeper breakdown in the way that management is practiced at a large number of American companies?